The present invention relates to the field of health care devoted to the maintenance of proper biomechanical functioning and alignment of the human skeletal system, particularly of the spine and its adjacent structures. The invention also reflects improved orthopedic devices and methods to treat spinal curvatures, subluxation, and areas around the spinal column.
It has long been recognized that proper alignment of the human skeletal system, particularly the spinal column and its related structures, is important to the proper biomechanical functioning of the human body. An improperly aligned spinal column, for instance, can lead to uneven weight and stress distribution along the patient's spine and pelvis which can lead to premature degeneration and arthritis of the spinal joints and related structures.
The purpose of this invention is to help provide the health care practitioner with an improved method and device for spinal curve correction to precisely and systematically treat patient spinal curvatures.
Many conventional techniques have been devised to effect changes to abnormal curvatures and subluxation of the spine. Such techniques include various chiropractic and osteopathic manipulative techniques, electrical muscle stimulation techniques, mechanical traction devices, self administered corrective exercises, and the like.
The conventional manipulative techniques involve correction of subluxation, osteopathic lesions, or fixations that contribute to spinal curvatures through the use of force administered manually or through an instrument. These techniques are usually effective in reducing joint fixations or altering the position of individual vertebrae but are not very effective in selectively strengthening the patient's muscles involved in maintaining proper spinal alignment for a more lasting correction of spinal curvatures.
Electrical stimulation has been used to attempt to selectively strengthen the various muscles around the patient's spine to bring the spine into a more ideal alignment. However, it is difficult if not impossible to selectively stimulate such internal muscles through layers of soft tissues and adjacent muscles overlying the muscles to be treated. Thus, when an electrical stimulus is applied such as with a pad placed on the skin, all patient muscles in that vicinity are collectively stimulated to various degrees depending on their location relative to the pad. The specificity of such approach is further prohibited in that not all the muscles in a given vicinity have similar action. Accordingly, when a muscle is stimulated to take advantage of the particular biomechanical action of the muscle, other surrounding muscles having different biomechanical actions will also be stimulated, reducing the effectiveness of this conventional approach.
Another conventional approach is the use of mechanical traction to correct spinal curvatures. This technique involves applying traction to the patient's spine in various positions to help straighten the spinal curvature. This approach is highly effective in stretching the ligamentous structures around the spine but does not selectively strengthen the patient's muscles involved in actively maintaining spinal alignment.
Self administered corrective exercises are also a conventional means after the patient has left the care of a health practitioner. Usually such exercises involve active stretching and "holding" of the patient's spine in the desired correction posture thereby to selectively strengthen the patient's muscles. These exercises may be effective in teaching the patient to hold the spine in a straight posture but are usually ineffective when the spine is in motion. As the patient's spine is moved away from the neutral position the mechanical leverage of the muscles affecting the spine changes. Accordingly, the patient's muscles must be able to adapt to the constantly changing leverage and be able to modulate muscle tone to maintain proper alignment throughout the range of motion of the spine. This typically is a complex process involving not only the relative strength of the muscles around the spine but also the ability of the patient's nervous system to accurately vary the muscle tone around the spine with information from a proprioceptive feedback system.
The present invention substantially improves the foregoing drawbacks by providing an improved orthopedic method and device. In accordance with one embodied form, the patient's spine is initially stabilized into a specific posture and maintained in that posture throughout various ranges of motion. By actively moving the patient's spine while the spine is stabilized into a specific posture in stationary as well a mobiel positions. Similarly, the present therapeutic method provides an effective means to selectively stretch the patient's ligamentous and muscular structures affecting spinal posture to more easily accommodate the corrected posture. Another important benefit is that the patient's nervous system, which controls spinal posture through proprioceptive feedback, learns to properly modulate the tone of various muscles during various phases of spinal motion to hold the spine in that specific posture during active movement.
In one embodied form the present invention provides an improved device to carry out the current method of spinal curvature correction in an effective and easy manner.
The embodied device comprises adjustable means for maintaining a patient in a seated position to allow tilt from side to side. Securement means are also provided to enable the patient's pelvis to be tightly secured while seated. An adjustable backrest means is also provided (tilting along a vertical axis, tilting up and down, and laterally adjustable) with a strap portion to enable the patient's upper back to be tightly secured to the backrest means. In addition, the improved device comprises means to enable the backrest to move relative to the seat means, with variable resistance, to allow active (patient provides the muscular force needed for movement) flexion and extension movement of the spinal column while the patient is secured to the device.
Resistance during movement on the device is provided by a pair of hydraulic shock absorbers, the anchoring point of which is adjustable to permit the level of resistance to be varied. One shock absorber provides resistance during flexion movement and the other shock absorber provides resistance during the extension movement of the spine.
Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that optional features may also be provided to permit a variety of adjustments to the seat and backrest means, and to permit a variety of patient motion in addition to flexion/extension type movement (e.g., rotation, lateral flexion, later translation, and circumduction). Although the present device is primarily directed to correct thoracic, lumbar, and lumbosacral curvatures the device and method can also be utilized with added components to correct cervical curvatures and sacroiliac portion of the pelvis. These added components can be removable or as an integral part of the inventive device for correcting thoracic, lumbar, and lumbosacral curvatures.
In more detail, the improved device for correcting cervical curvatures is basically the same as the device for correcting thoracolumbar areas except that the head and the thoracic spine is stabilized to allow various guided motion of the cervical spine.
The inventive device in the embodied form for correction of sacroiliac joint malposition comprises means of securing both legs and thighs of the patient in a selected position, in addition to the seat means which functions to stabilize the innominate bones through contact with the ischial tuberosities. The device, however, enables the patient to actively exercise the body so as to allow ample movement of the sacrum against the innominate bones. The position of the thighs and legs, at their extreme positions, can alter the position of the sacroiliac joints. Applying the principle of the inventive method, the patient's legs and thighs are positioned so that the sacroiliac joints are moved in the desired direction. As the patient actively exercises in the device, the sacrum will move against the stabilized innominate bones thereby stretching and conditioning the patient's ligaments and muscles that affect the sacroiliac joints to hold the joints in a desired position.
Additional modifications may be made to the device by incorporating other therapeutic features as an integral part of the device. Modalities such as ultrasound, diathermy, high and low frequency electrical stimulation, heating or cooling means, traction, vibration, special raised areas along the contact surface for acupressure or trigger point therapy and the like can also be incorporated into the inventive device to enhance the patient's treatment and response.